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March 17, 1964 D. MORAE COMBINATION STEP STOOL AND CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 15, 1962 INVENTOR. ia/mm /%V4e, ark r [fir/aw 1% fame 5.

March 17, 1964 D. MORAE COMBINATION STEP STOOL AND CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 13, 1962 m i/jz inlik R o 3 m V m United States Patent 3,125,183 COMBINATION STEP STGOL AND CHAIR Duncan McRae, Whitehall, Mich, assignor to Novo Industrial Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 173,030 8 Claims. (61. 132-336) This invention relates to a combination step stool and chair, and particularly relates to a step stool which may be changed to different positions.

An object of this invention is a step stool and chair in which the step may be easily positioned.

Another object is a seat mechanism which functions both as a seat and as a step.

Another object is a step stool and chair in which a hinged seat is locked in the seating position and in the stepping position.

Another object is a step stool and chair in which the seat is pivoted to a stepping position.

Another object is a seat mechanism in which one side is used only for stepping and the other side is used for seating.

Another object is a step stool and chair having a bracket and hinge arrangement which looks the seat in one position.

Another object is a step stool and chair having a bracket and hinge arrangement which locks the seat in stepping position.

Another object is a pivotal seat mechanism which rests on a platform of the chair in one position.

Another object is a pivotal seat mechanism which rests intermediate the floor and the chair platform in a second position.

Another object is a chair which has a platform to supporta seat mechanism with one side up and a crossbrace between the legs to support the seat mechanism with the other side up.

Another object is a seat mechanism with one side adapted for stepping thereby permitting the other side to remain unsoiled.

The invention disclosed herein attains the foregoing objects and other objects which will be apparent from time to time. The invention will be described in detail and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the step stool and chair with the seat mechanism engaged for sitting,

FIGURE 2 is a partial side view of the stool and chair with the seat mechanism in the up position, and the down position of the seat indicated by phantom outline,

FIGURE 3 is a partial side view of the tool and chair with the seat mechanism releasably lifted.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary portion of the seat bracket showing details of the slot, and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the stool and chair with the seat mechanism in stepping position.

The chair in 'FIGURE 1 is shown provided with front legs and 12 with crossbrace 14 therebetween, and back ,legs 11 and 13 with back crossbrace 15 therebetween. The front legs 10 and 12 preferably diverge at their lower floor contacting portions, and side legs 10, 11, for example, also diverge at their lower floor contacting portions. This diverging relationship allows greater stability, which is particularly desirable when the stepping stool of the chair is used. The legs are fixed to the bottom of platform 26 and may be a one piece construction, generally U-shaped, the legs and platform forming, in effect, an integral framework. A skirt having a front wall 42 and a side wall 43 is shown depending from the sides of the platform. A back wall and another side wall of the skirt are not shown.

The chair may be provided with a back rest 17 joined to a seat 20 by connecting members 18, 19. The members 18, 19 may be curved at their lower portions for attachment under platform 26 or may be fixed to other portions of the platform.

The seat 20 has a top side 21 which may be upholstered or may have any attractive material which will form a pleasing'appearance and combination with, for example, the back rest 17. The top side 21 may also be considered as the seat surface. The seat has a bottom side 22 which rests on a platform 26. The bottom 22 may also be considered as a tread surface, as will be later described. The seat is also shown to have side walls 23, 24 which join back wall 25. These walls may be placed on the seat to hide the platform 26 and portions of the seat and platform brackets when the seat is in the up position.

Seat 2% has a mechanism whereby the seat can be turned from the up position to a down position or step stool position as shown in FIGURE 2. The mechanism consists of a seat bracket or arm 31 which has a generally vertical upper portion fixed forward of the bottom side 22 of the seat by screws or the like 33 engaging lateral portion 32. A lower portion of the bracket 31 angles rearwardly towards legs 11 and 13. The bottom portion has a generally longitudinal slot 35 with aligned arcuate end 34 and anarcuate offset end 35. Seat bracket 31 is hinged to a generally vertical platform bracket or arm 37 which is secured to the bottom of platform 26 by volts or the like 38 engaging a lateral portion similar to 32 on the seat bracket. The free end of the platform bracket 37 has a pin or the like slidably engaged in slot 35. The pin may be in the form of a nut 39 with projecting shank 40 (FIGURE 4) fixed in the end of the platform bracket. The upper portion of the seat bracket 31 has a straight back edge 41 which abuts front wall 42 of platform 26 when the seat 20 is in the up or seating position.

The seat 20 is locked in the upper seating position by a combination of edge 41 abutting against front wall 42 and the aligned arcuate end 34 of slot 35 closely engaging the shank of nut 39. Seat 20 is pivoted into a down or stepping position by raising seat 20 up and towards the back as shown in FIGURE 3. Such a movement takes edge 41 of seat bracket 31 out of abutting relationship with front wall 42 of platform 26, and causes slot 35 to move along the shank of nut 39 in the offset arcuate end 36 of slot 35. The seat 20 is then pivoted or turned to the down position or the stepping position. In the down position, the top side 21 of seat 20 is supported on crossbrace 14 between front legs 10 and 12. The seat 20 is locked in this down or stepping position by the offset arcuate end 36 engaging the shank 40 of nut 39.

The top of the platform 26 may be considered as a tread surface which is exposed when the seat is pivoted to the down position. The bottom 22 of the seat 20 may also be viewed as a tread surface when the seat is inverted by the pivoting motion. The tread surface of the platform and seat may have a tread material 48, 49 attached thereon to provide sure footing. Material such as rubber or synthetic plastics may be formed into sheets and their surfaces may be broken into longitudinal grooves or staggered projections or the like.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

The combination step stool and carrier is preferably provided with spaced legs that diverge at their floor contacting portions in order to provide stability for both seating and stepping. The chair is converted from a seating to a stepping stool by a seat swinging mechanism or hinge assembly which includes a pair of seat arms or brackets 31 fixed to the forward tread surface or bottom 22 of seat 20 at one pair of ends, and hinged at its other ends to the lower ends of a pair of platform arms or brackets 37 which are fixed to the bottom of platform 26. The platform supports the seat in the up or seating position. The seat bracket 31 is hinged to the platform bracket 37 by an arrangement which includes a longitudinal slot 35 which has an aligned arcuate end 34 and an offset arcuate end 36. The slot engages the shank of nut 39, which nut is fixed to the bottom of the platform bracket 37. When the seat is in the up or seating position, the aligned arcuate end of slot 35 closely engages the shank of nut 39, and edge 41 of seat bracket 31 abuts the front surface 42 of platform 26. The seat is locked in such an up position and can only be released by raising the front end of seat 20 up and back until nut 39 slides down slot 35 intermediate the aligned arcuate end and the offset arcuate end. The seat is then turned to the down or stepping position by pivoting hinge bracket 31 around nut 3-9 until the top side 21 of seat 20 rests on crossbrace or bearing member 14 and offset arcuate end 36 engages the shank of nut 39. The seat is locked in the down or stepping position and weight may be placed on the tread surfaces of the seat and the platform. Tread material such as rubber or plastic with a broken exposed surface may be attached to the tread surfaces of the platform and the seat to provide secure footing.

The seat may be pivoted back to the upper seating position by merely raising the front of the seat until the bottom 22 of seat 20 again rests on the tread surface of platform 26. The return of the seat to the up position will disengage the offset arcuate end of the slot from the shank of the nut 39, and the shank will ride along longitudinal slot 35 until it engages the aligned arcuate end 34 of the slot when the seat is in full up position.

It is seen that the foregoing seat mechanism permits a person to step on the platform and the tread surface of the seat without soiling the seat surface 21 of the seat 2 0.

The foregoing invention can now be practiced by those skilled in the art. Such skilled persons will know that the invention is not necessarily restricted to the particular embodiments presented herein. The scope of the invention is to be defined by the terms of the following claims as given meaning by the preceding description.

I claim:

1. In a combination step stool and chair, a platform having a top tread surface, back and front legs extending from the bottom of the platform, a crossbrace between the front legs, a pivotal seat with opposed seat and tread surfaces, seat brackets having a generally vertical upper portion fixed to the tread surface of the pivotal seat and a rearwardly angled lower portion having a longitudinal slot, generally vertical platform brackets having an upper end fixed to the bottom of the platform and a pin in the lower end to slidably engage the slot, whereby the seat is supported on the platform in an up position with the seat surface exposed and is supported on the crossbrace, with tread surface exposed, when pivoted to a down position.

2. In a combination step stool and chair, a platform, back legs and front legs extending therefrom, a crossbrace between the front legs, platform brackets fixed to the bottom of the platform, a pivotal seat with opposed seat and tread surfaces, and seat brackets fixed at one end to the tread surface of the seat and hinged at the other end by a pin in the platform bracket slidably engaging a longitudinal slot in the seat bracket, whereby the seat is supported on the platform in an up position, and is supported on the crossbrace when pivoted to a down position.

3. In a combination step stool and chair, a platform, back legs and front legs extending therefrom, a crossbrace between the front legs, platform brackets fixed to the bottom of the platform, a pivotal seat with opposed seat and tread surfaces, seat brackets fixed at one end to the surface of the seat and hinged at the other end to the platform brackets, and said seat brackets abutting the platform when the seat is in the up position, whereby the seat is supported on the platform in the up position and is supported on the crossbrace when pivoted to a down position.

4. A combination step stool and chair, said combination step stool and chair including, in combination,

a framework consisting of a plurality of ground engaging legs which support a platform having an upper stepping surface,

a seat structure disposed above the platform,

said seat structure having an upper normally exposed seating surface and a lower stepping surface,

said stepping surface being disposed in opposing relationship to the stepping surface of the platform,

a bearing member disposed intermediate the platform and the floor level, said bearing member being fixed with respect to the legs, and

a hinge assembly connected at one end to the framework and at the other to the seat structure for moving the seat structure downwardly from its position above the platform into engagement with the bearing member in an inverted position,

the rear end of the inverted seat structure lying rearwardly with respect to the front edge of the platform to thereby provide a step intermediate ground level and the platform which extends horizontally inwardly a substantial distance with respect to the front edge of the stepping surface of the platform.

5. The combination step stool and chair of claim 4 further including a back structure, said back structure being fixed with respect to the platform in all relative positions of the seat structure.

6. The combination step stool and chair of claim 4 further characterized in that the bearing member is carried by the legs.

' 7. The combination step stool and chair of claim 4 further characterized in that that portion of the hinge assembly connected to the seat structure is secured to the seat structure closely adjacent its rear end and a substantial distance rearwardly from the bearing member in an inverted position to thereby provide maximum stability.

8. The combination step stool and chair of claim 4 further including a retaining member which extends generally vertically upwardly from the rear end portion of the tread surface of the seat structure when the seat structure is in an inverted position to thereby form an obstruction to slippage of a users foot over the rear end of said seat structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 201,243 Switzerland Feb. 16, 1939 

1. IN A COMBINATION STEP STOOL AND CHAIR, A PLATFORM HAVING A TOP TREAD SURFACE, BACK AND FRONT LEGS EXTENDING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE PLATFORM, A CROSSBRACE BETWEEN THE FRONT LEGS, A PIVOTAL SEAT WITH OPPOSED SEAT AND TREAD SURFACES, SEAT BRACKETS HAVING A GENERALLY VERTICAL UPPER PORTION FIXED TO THE TREAD SURFACE OF THE PIVOTAL SEAT AND A REARWARDLY ANGLED LOWER PORTION HAVING A LONGITUDINAL SLOT, GENERALLY VERTICAL PLATFORM BRACKETS HAVING AN UPPER END FIXED TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PLATFORM AND A PIN IN THE LOWER END TO SLIDABLY ENGAGE THE SLOT, WHEREBY THE SEAT IS SUPPORTED ON THE PLATFORM IN AN UP POSITION WITH THE SEAT SURFACE EXPOSED AND IS SUPPORTED ON THE CROSSBRACE, WITH TREAD SURFACE EXPOSED, WHEN PIVOTED TO A DOWN POSITION. 